I am ready to buy a practice set. I took lessons for a bit while studying abroad 3 years ago and want to get back in the habit. Wanted to know your recommendations for decent half and practice sets. My price range is anywhere from 400 - 1800 (for the right set of pipes).

- What good things should I be looking for? (materials, age, makers)
- What bad things should I be looking for? ("")
- Any other advice?

Hi,
I am looking for advice for where to find the best way to learn to play uilleann pipes. would be great to find a tutor in Newcastle, England! I am one of these "seeing learners"! i find it difficult to learn from a book. I can already playe the Bagpipes, but would learn to play something a little more easy on the ear. Any advice about what to buy and where? It the Tin Whistle the same fingering? is this the best way to start play and learning the different fingering?
Cheers.
Mac

The tin whistle is a good pathway to the pipes - because it has the same two octave range, although the approach to fingering is very different on the UP chanter, as the fingers must stretch much further to cover the holes. I'm sure that there must be a piper or two in the Newcastle area who can give you some advice and help you get started. Try asking any Irish musicians in the area and they might help you make some useful contacts.

2) Where is the best place to find the fingerings for all the main notes and accidentals the chanter can play?

3) Should I start with Airs first or should I start learning all the ornamentation and fast fingering with jigs and reels?

4) How can I get faster at playing?

5) How do I know my rig is setup correctly?

6) How do I keep my rig airtight? What should I be looking for? How often should I be checking?

7) How do I tune my chanter quickly and effectively?

What is the best way to learn the pipes? I can read music and I have a good ear. I realize I have to put in the time to practice and live by the Law of the Harvest. I know it will take time. For the really experienced pipers: If you could go back and do it all over again, how would you go about learning the pipes with the knowledge and hindsight you have now?

9) The death grip sneaks up on me all the time. How do I stay relaxed in my wrists, hands, and fingers while I am working the bellows and bag?

10) What is the best way to relax after experiencing the deathgrip without putting the pipes down?

I realize there may be many answers to these and will differ as much as people are different. Thank you for sharing your experience and insights with me.

Hello guys and gals... Just signed up on the forums today and already have a question. I have no clue when i first heard the UP but I know the first time I saw it was Gaelic storms Steerage party on Titanic. Ever since then I have an urge to try out the UP. I have been looking around and keep hearing people talk about the Tin whistle or the Bb so I started looking around. The UP chanter has 8 holes but the whistles only have 6. How do the whistles help learn the notes if you are missing two holes. Maybe I am missing something...

If your talking about a basic non-keyed chanter then there's some differences between the two, but the basic notes would be the same (although pipes are tuned to just intonation to harmonize with the drones) barring your hard/soft bottom note. Here's a few things to note, but there are variations and exceptions depending on make the make of chanter and/or whistle, and style of fingering on chanter (using closed/staccato here):

- The chanter can have an open fingering, closed fingering, or combination thereof. The whistle is open fingering where you pretty much just keep uncovering additional holes from bottom to top to sound up the scale.
- Your lowest note on both is the bell note (bottom of the whistle and chanter)
- Assuming key of D and then your "E" note on the chanter is generally the first two fingers on your lower hand lifted vs just one finger on the whistle
- Also assuming key of D then your "B" note on the chanter is generally the first two fingers on your upper hand lifted vs the lowest 5 toneholes lifted on the whistle
- Once again assuming key of D the chanter has an extra tone hole for high D (or second octave D) whereas the whistle you over-blow with all the tone holes covered to achieve the same
- The chanter has two lower octave D's generally, the "hard" and "soft" which the whistle just has one (more ornamentation factor)
- A chanter many times will have keys for the accidentals (sharps/flats outside the regular notes of the key) but can be cross fingered/half-holed for some (if not all potentially), the whistle is strictly cross fingering and half-holing for those notes with the occasional exception of a c-natural or f-natural (assuming key of d again) on some 7 or 8 hole whistles (not quite as common)

For learning a tune it's been easier in my experience to play it on a whistle before attempting it on the pipes, but then again I'm still learning on both. Just my two cents worth, hope it helps.

Hello.
Just bought my first chanter, a Daye Penny Chanter.
Its going to be a little while before I have enough to complete my practice set.
Looks like LA is a good area to start UPs, several pros who give lessons to choose from, a couple active
sessions, and a good local club.
Alls I need is mo' money, but thats just a matter of time.
Meanwhile I can play my whistles, learn more tunes, and try try try to get the rythems down.
I'd have held off posting till I got my set together but it looks like I need a minimum number of posts
to read some files.

EDITED TO ADD- Looks like I've got a line on a Daye bellows and bags. YEAH!
I'mo be a piper yet!

I've been playing on a Daye half set for about a month now. It's definitely a nice way to learn without breaking the bank, although I do plan on upgrading to a wood chanter in the near future. While I don't think the tone of the penny chanter can rival that of a well made wood chanter, it does the job and the intonation is spot on. I'm extremely pleased with the Daye drones, too, though I've been concentrating mostly on the chanter when I practice.

Have you looked into the Clarke tutor? It's really a nice book with a lot of great tunes, available on Amazon.com. I've also found the video tutors on Na Piobairi Uilleann to be very helpful. That's great that you have several pros in LA to choose from...that should help you immensely! I'm hoping to find an instructor eventually here in the Philly area.

Thanks for the hello JH1984.
My future tutor said much the same as you.
It won't be long now!
I've also joined the local pipers club;
Southern California Uilleann Pipers Clubhttp://www.socalpipers.com/

I haven't posted here in awhile, but I had a question that I think would be relevant to this topic...

I found a great tutor in Washington D.C. since my last post and have had the opportunity (through him) to test a few different chanters. The chanter that came with my original set... had a real difficulty transitioning into the high E... without sounding a horrible screechy squawk. For months I thought the problem had to do with my status as a novice UNTIL, my tutor gave me a Daye chanter to work with. The squawk went away completely... and since then I've tried two other chanters that do not have the same screeching squawking issue. This tells me it was a chanter/reed issue on my original set and not a lack of pressure control or accurate fingering (that's my theory at least, lol).

The current chanter I am using (and I won't name the maker because they probably read and post here, lol) I'm not very happy with in terms of a few areas...

1. Top D is way to sensitive (bridal adjustment has little to no effect)
2. It has a thumbrest... not a fan.
3. When doing staccato triplets, in particular low hand (FGA) the "G" aspect sounds "croaky" and I realize a lot of chanters are like this... but I have played one that wasn't and was pleased with it.
4. Despite my efforts at bridal adjustment and reed seating, Top D pressure, does not transition into High E gracefully... My Daye chanter did this wonderfully.

So having said all that, I am looking for a new chanter. And I wanted to know the best way to possibly test chanters from different makers, without spending a mint. Or if anyone has advice on makers that include the following attributes...

1. A hearty Top D
2. No thumbrest
3. The ability to have one finger off the G hole, and still have it sound a clear note (particularly in the case of FGA triplets)
4. A nice fluid transition from Top D Pressure right into High E.
5. And I don't know that it makes a difference, but I tend to like the feel and grip of a thinner chanter.